Wednesday, June 19, 2019

After several years of our blog, the Justice Center will now be posting fresh news content exclusively on our website, uaa.alaska.edu/justice. We appreciate the opportunity we've had to share our updates with our blog readers, and we thank everyone who counts themselves a reader and supporter of our work.

You will still be able to explore older stories and news on our blog. But to keep up with our latest--from faculty research to notable students and alumni--head over to our website! You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday, May 24, 2019

In apartment complexes, managers can attempt to reduce crime rates by changing how they train staff, screen tenants, and carry out other management practices. But how do broader neighborhood conditions influence the effectiveness of those practices? In a new article in Security Journal, Dr. Troy Payne and co-authors address this question by analyzing manager survey data from 238 apartments across 29 neighborhoods in Cincinnati.“The study demonstrates that crime is impacted by many factors including both place-level and neighborhood-level effects that interact in complex ways,” said Dr. Payne. “Our findings suggest that crime mitigation measures by property owners in advantaged neighborhoods reduce crime. However, preventative building management practices in disadvantaged neighborhoods have lesser benefit.” You can access the full article here.

Monday, May 20, 2019

We sat down to talk with alumna April Stone about what it’s
like to be a nontraditional student pursuing a law career. In 2017 April graduated
from the Justice Center’s accelerated justice major, which allowed her to enter
law school—something she always knew she wanted to do—after her third year as
an undergrad. In addition to being a parent, April worked as a paralegal before
and during her time at UAA. She is currently finishing her JD at the University
of Oregon School of Law.

How would you describe your experience as a nontraditional student at
the Justice Center?

It was nothing like I thought it would be. I was expecting
to be the old person in college when I started at 27 years old. I realized very
quickly that many students at UAA were both older than me and younger than me,
and I was relieved that there was so much age diversity.

I also didn’t want my undergraduate program to be so time
consuming that it took away from my ability to be a parent. Balancing full-time
work, school and parenting required a lot of organization—I needed to block
time out to do homework, and also to be a parent. But I found that with careful
planning it was totally manageable.

I also found that online classes worked really well for me,
because I wanted to be at home more and minimize the amount of time I had to
take off work. I was surprised at how many classes I could take without going
to campus.

What do you like about law as a career?

I like the challenge! There’s so much strategy involved, and
that makes it intellectually stimulating. I also like the ability to help
someone in a way that they can’t help themselves. People depend on lawyers for
all kinds of things—sometimes in critical situations, sometimes to plan for the
future, or sometimes just to handle a problem that’s been nagging at them. But
each of those things involves a lawyer offering something that people couldn’t
do on their own. I like the responsibility that comes with that. No matter what
type of work I’m doing, it really benefits someone.

What advice would you give students who want to go to law school?

Becoming a lawyer is a lot of work. You can expect your class
workload to double or triple in the first year of law school, so make sure you’re
fully invested and put in everything you’ve got. But I’d also say: Don’t
underestimate yourself. Don’t assume that you’re not capable of the work, and
don’t self-select out of opportunities by saying “I’m not good enough so I’m
not even going to try.” Because that’s how you miss out on the best
opportunities.

Any words of wisdom for nontraditional students?

I would definitely recommend that every student—nontraditional
or not—take advantage of UAA’s tuition waiver opportunities. Those helped me through
a lot of semesters, and some years they covered up to half of my tuition.

For working students: Ask questions. As a working parent, I
approached my boss and said, “I want to go to college if you’re supportive of
it.” I was able to work a crazy schedule so that I could leave for a few hours
in the middle of the day to go to class. Reach out to everyone—your family and
friends, your childcare provider, your boss, your school. There’s more support
and resources for non-traditional students than I ever expected.

Also, talk to your professors! I got some great advice from
the faculty in the Justice Center by just knocking on doors and saying, “Here’s
what I want to do—help me get there.” Students don’t always take advantage of
the wealth of knowledge in the Justice Center, and the resources there that
help you reach your goals beyond college. I’m grateful to the faculty who helped
me put this career plan together.

Friday, April 19, 2019

KTVA Channel 11 News in Anchorage and the Anchorage Press reported this week on the Alaska SAKI research study being conducted by Dr. Ingrid Johnson of the UAA Justice Center. The study, funded by a Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, will interview victims who experienced sexual assaults in Alaska between 2006 and 2016 that were reported to the Alaska State Troopers, seeking to learn how the sexual assault reporting process is experienced by sexual assault victims, as well as the participant’s perspectives on how the process of investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults could be improved for victims.

"What we know is that there's improvements that can be made to the reporting process more generally," Dr. Johnson told KTVA, "so to not only encourage people to report in the first place, but also to make sure those who do report have a positive experience."

Dr. Johnson will personally interview participants from throughout the state who are willing to talk about their experiences. Study participants will remain anonymous and will be paid for their time. Study participants must have been at least 18 years old at the time of the assault. Both women and men are encouraged to participate.

The interview process includes questions about the sexual assault reporting experience, as well as the participant’s perspectives on justice and how improvements could be made to the reporting system.

Thursday, March 7, 2019

The most recent issue issue of the AJiC Fact Sheet, "Property Crime in Alaska 1985–2017," describes Alaska property crime trends from 1985 through 2017, with a focus on motor vehicle theft rate trends. Overall property crime in Alaska increased by 28.6% from 2011 to 2017. Burglary and larceny theft increased moderately, but motor vehicle theft rates tripled from the lowest recorded rate 2011 to the highest recorded rate in 2017. Data is drawn from the annual Crime in Alaska report of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, which represents the State of Alaska's contribution to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) program.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

The 18-06 and 18-07 (December 2018) issues of the AJiC Fact Sheet present data on drug sale and manufacture arrests and drug possession arrests in
Alaska for 1986 to 2017 by type of drug and sex of arrestee. Types of drugs include narcotics, synthetic narcotics, marijuana, and other non-narcotic
drugs. Data are drawn from the annual Crime in Alaska report of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, which represents the State of Alaska's
contribution to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) program.

This fact sheet presents data on drug sale and manufacture arrests by type of drug and sex of arrestee as reported by Alaska law enforcement agencies for the 32-year period 1986 to 2017. Types of drugs include narcotics, synthetic narcotics, marijuana, and other non-narcotic drugs. Overall, males comprise roughly three-fourths of the total drug sale and manufacture arrests in the state of Alaska. The female and male rates parallel one another in that they rise and fall at the same points in most years. For all drugs, the difference between female and male arrest rates in 2017 are smaller than in 1986.

This fact sheet presents data on drug possession arrests by type of drug and sex of arrestee as reported by Alaska law enforcement agencies for the 32-year period 1986 to 2017. Types of drugs include narcotics, synthetic narcotics, marijuana, and other non-narcotic drugs. Overall, males comprise roughly four out of five drug possession arrests in the state of Alaska. The female and male rates parallel one another in that they rise and fall at the same points in most years.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

The UAA Justice Center is seeking a Communications Coodinator & Editor.
This position provides editorial assistance with the preparation of Alaska Justice Forum articles, research reports, scholarly papers and presentations, and research proposals. The position orchestrates and supervises the entire publication process for the Alaska Justice Forum, including developing publication content with a focus on integration and synthesis of research findings on justice topics/issues. The successful candidate will serve as the Justice Center's media liaison and will also coordinate and supervise Justice Center public activities and events.

Requirements:

Knowledge of communications theory and application in research, execution and evaluation of communications functions, best practices, and industry standards.

Ability to mutli-task in a timely manner.

Knowledge of cross-cultural communications, including translation of technical documents into forms accessible to general audiences.

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Director of the UAA Justice Center and the Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) and Dr. Ingrid Johnson of the UAA Justice Center joined hosts Kathleen McCoy of Alaska Public Media and Judge Elaine Andrews (ret.) on Alaska Public Media's Justice Alaska on Hometown Alaska on November 19.

The program focused on UAA Justice Center's research mission, with a particular emphasis on research being undertaken by Dr. Johnson to support the Alaska Department of Public Safety's sexual assault kit initiative (SAKI), which is focused on improving the Alaska State Troopers' and partner agencies' responses to sexual assault.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

The Justice Center's Legal Studies program is searching for an Assistant Professor of Justice

This tenure-track position is responsible for teaching and providing professional service to the University, to the profession/discipline, and to the community. Incumbent is expected to teach undergraduate legal studies courses on a variety of substantive and skills-based topics in legal studies and to serve as liaison with the Alaska legal community, developing career, service, and internship opportunities for students. The standard instructional workload is 4 courses per semester.

Requirements:

Juris Doctor degree from a law school approved by the American Bar Association.

Member in good standing of the Alaska Bar Association or the bar association of another state.

Experience practicing criminal law is preferred, but not required.

Seeking applicants that reflect the increasing diversity present in our community student body.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

What are best practices to move people out of homelessness? How do we deal with crime and other social problems associated with homelessness? How can we reduce the very high rates of victimization among homeless people? Who becomes homeless and why?